Four years after his departure from Millwall to play for  Melbourne Victory, Muscat's reputation still looms large and Murphy is looking forward to renewing acquaintances when the two meet in the Victory's match against Fulham on Saturday night at Etihad Stadium.

"I've obviously played against him somewhere down the line," he said  today. "I always remember him being a tough cookie."

And he joked: "You know he could put his foot in with the best of 'em and put himself about so I don't think I'll be venturing too close to him on the pitch come Saturday.

"He's obviously had a good career over there in England and is a decent player, but he does have that reputation."

But Muscat is not too concerned about any long-harboured grudges coming to the fore on Saturday night.

"I don't think anybody there owes me (a square up). Hopefully, they've got short memories also," the Victory skipper said.

Muscat has the utmost respect for Murphy as a player and sees him as a real danger man in Saturday's match.

"I played against him a couple of times," he said. "He's a quality footballer, he's played for the national team a number of times.

"He scored again last night (against Gold Coast), and he's someone we are going to have to be mindful of because he'd carved up a lot better teams than we are."

Murphy, 32, has had a decorated career, having spent eight seasons at English giant Liverpool as well as spells at Charlton Athletic and Tottenham. He is one of several high-profile players who will play on Saturday, including Andy Johnson, who has played at Birmingham, Crystal Palace and Everton.

"I played against him (Johnson) quite a few times and again, he's a proven goalscorer," Muscat said.

"Bobby Zamora, Mark Schwarzer, those blokes I've played against. You don't finish seventh in the Premier League without having a decent team and probably most importantly a very good manager as well."